Rafael Palmeiro, 53, agrees to pro baseball deal

May 9 (UPI) — Former Texas Rangers slugger Rafael Palmeiro told the Dallas Morning News that he is returning to professional baseball.

The four-time All-Star agreed to play in a Texas independent league, alongside his son Patrick Palmeiro. Patrick, 28, hit .236 with 11 home runs and 49 RBIs in 110 games last season for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in the Atlantic League.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Palmeiro told the Morning News on Tuesday, via text message. “Nobody gave me a chance to go to spring training, so I will just take this path.”

The 53-year-old will play for the Cleburne Railroaders of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.

Palmeiro hit 569 home runs and owned a .288 batting average in 20 seasons for the Rangers, Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles. His last season came in 2005 with the Orioles.

He also played for an independent team in 2015, when he laced up for the Sugar Land Skeeters. Palmeiro told The Athletic in December that he was planning a return to Major League Baseball. In January he posted a video of himself hacking away in a batting cage.

The Railroaders start their season against the Winnipeg Goldeyes on May 18 at The Depot at Cleburne Station in Cleburne, Texas.